There is no magic in helping change your horse's attitude/behaviour. Most problems stem from pain, fear or confusion or a mixture of all three. Stress is a direct result of these influences and should be addressed before any formal training takes place.
At CNES we have found that there are four easy to perform tasks that everybody can use to help their horse.
We have set them out below for you to print off and use next time you see your equine friend or client.Perhaps this seems an unusual place to start but working this area will have a major effect on your horse. At the top of the top gums at the front of the mouth is an acupressure point that has a direct link to the limbic system in the horse's brain. This limbic system is the part of the brain that controls emotions.
To begin this work, play gently with your horse's nostrils, lips and mouth, then wet your fingers and, steadying the horse's head with your other hand on the headcollar, slip your index finger onto the top gum at the side of the mouth.
Slide your finger round until it is at the front of the top gum.
Using your whole hand slide from side to side in a semi-circular movement right across above all the front teeth.
At first your horse may find this really strange and act as if he hates it. Persevere! Once your horse begins to feel the soothing effect his eyes will soften and even seem to glaze over. His head will lower and he may sigh or yawn deeply.
After a few rubs your horse may try to move away because he has had enough, which is fine. If he enjoys you working his gums he may well ask for it in the future by putting his muzzle in your hands. So be prepared!
There are many acupressure points in the ears so by working them you can influence your horse all over (If you have experienced reflexology you will know how well this can work). He will benefit in the areas he needs without you having to know details of the points. Working the ears also has an amazingly calming effect whether your horse is anxious or unwell.
First of all rub gently around the base of the ear with your thumb and first finger, again steadying the head with your other hand on the head collar.
Next rub the ear flat against the horse's own head; this is often a good way to start the work with a horse who is sensitive about having his ears touched.
When he accepts this, place your thumb inside the ear at the base and the rest of your fingers on the outside, then gently pull and slide your hand up until you reach the tip of the ear.
Hold here for a few seconds, pressing the tip gently between your thumb and index finger.
This is an anti-stress point and in emergencies working this point for 10-15 minutes can save a horse's life.
Next you can walk the fingers up the ear to the tip and squeeze again. After 5-10 minutes your horse should look softer in his eye and be standing in a more relaxed way.
Once used to this work it should be possible to calm your horse from the saddle should he or she face a stressful situation. This may take a little practice!
Having concentrated on the head, let's move on to something you can do all over your horse.
This is a series of touches which, when performed all over the body, moving the skin rather than just hair, stimulates touch receptors and helps the central nervous system to work cohesively. They can be performed all over the body, even the soles of the feet - helpful in cases of laminitis.
Placing both hands on your horse use the pads of your fingers on one hand to make small clockwise circles moving the horse's skin. Do not try to move muscles; you just need fingertip pressure sufficient to move the skin over your eyelids. The circles you make last for a circle and a quarter, if you imagine that you start at 6 o'clock and lift off the horse at 9 o'clock. You can perform these in set patterns or just where your hand takes you; all will be beneficial. If a horse is sensitive wearing gloves can help.
In a similar way you can use - The Healing Stick (or schooling/dressage whip).
This also stimulates the nervous system and has a great calming effect. Wipe your stick all over your horse as if you wanted to paint him or her your favourite colour. Use long, even strokes and bend it slightly, using firm pressure so that it is less ticklish. After stroking down the inside and outside of each leg, gently tap the hoof as this helps the horse to feel where they are. This works well for horses that are spooky, have poor balance or a fear of the trailer.
This is a movement similar to playing the drums where your hand lands on the skin only to rebound back up (the end of each movement is up in the air – if you end on the horses skin it will feel more like a smack and will hurt).
You may work all over the horses body on top of muscle but a good area to target is about half the circumference of the pastern bone away from the ridge of the spine, on both the near and off side.
This targets the Bladder meridian (or energy line) but in fact has an effect on all meridians and helps the whole of the horse's body to begin to adjust and calm. It has a beneficial effect on hormones and the immune system.
Percussion is important for helping de stress your horse as it stimulates circulation and lymphatic draining as well as the energy lines called Meridians. It also stimulates areas that need stimulating and sedates those areas that need sedating.
As with all therapies make sure that you are reading your horse's body language and not doing things to him that he does not like. Every horse is an individual and as such will like different techniques – he is not just being stubborn because he will not let you use 'fingertip' percussion he probably does not like it - I do not like this one either! But some horses will really love it.
Another guideline is whatever feels good to GIVE will probably feel good to receive. So after a while (taking into account learning time) if you do not like doing it neither will it feel good to receive.
You can learn much more about these techniques by attending one of our many courses, or by purchasing one of our self help videos.
If at any time you would like further clarification or more work please contact us
